Now three episodes into American Gods, it’s clear that showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green aren’t interested in making a TV show with a complicated plot and deep-dive mysteries. Instead, they’ve spent the bulk of these past couple of episodes setting the stage and painting a picture for the bigger showdown still to come.

If not already clear with the coming to America vignettes and the tech-savvy people coming after Shadow Moon, this show is dealing with a battle for belief between the Old Gods (Anubis, Anansi, Bilquis, etc) and the New Gods (Media and the Technical Boy, among others). The Old Gods are struggling for relevance, working as prostitutes and cab drivers, while the New Gods are thriving in our modern age.